We stood and waved Artemis off, her turning back and waving to us as she
walked backwards, staying as long as we could until she vanished out of
sight. Then we turned down the road to Kerberos’s house.
The day was bright and sunny, the breeze light and airy, and yet none of it
reached me. The long road through cultivated fields was like an
executioner’s plank, with nothing but sharks and the endless deep at the
end, waiting to consume me, swallow me whole. Golden stalks of wheat all
around us, bars to my prison cell. My tunic, previously steeling me and
guarding me, was now a heavy weight, lead wrapping around me. It was
getting harder to breath, panic mounting, breaths coming faster. This was
just so quick! Less than 12 hours ago my biggest concern was dealing with
my scarring – admittedly a problem, but one I had tools to fix – and now I
was about to meet my fiancé. I didn’t want a fiancé.
The road was both too long, and too short. In a blink of an eye, we were in
front of a sprawling estate, full of rich-looking low buildings scattered all
over the place. There was a bustle of people around, and from the number
of people and the work they were doing, I suspected most of them were
slaves. Blah, they wanted me to live as a slave owner. I had fantasies of
being waited on hand and foot – who didn’t? But it was always ethical, it
was always because I had made millions of dollars and was paying people
to do it. Sure, slaves were paid – either upfront, or while they were slaves,
and could buy themselves out – but something about it just felt different,
felt wrong. Gah, I needed to focus, we were almost at the door.
A well-dressed slave met us at the door, and lead us inside. The place was
huge and gorgeous, rugs and frescos on every floor, paintings and
sculptures on every wall. Classy luxury and wealth emanated from every
stone, from every chair, table, and recliner. The pillows had gold threads
embroidered on them, and everything was dyed, some even in the rich apple
red's and azure blue’s that were so expensive. My eyes had turned into
dollar signs as I tried to take it all in. I could see why mom and dad thought
this was such a good marriage for me.
We entered into yet another fancy room, and there was Kerberos, and his
mother and father, all dressed in rich togas, with a purple sash going from
shoulder to hip. Yikes, I thought we had pulled out all the stops, but it was